Allernet > Newsletter > Any Questions?

Kiwi Allergy and Antihistamines in High Blood Pressure

Dr. Kagen,

I live in Iceland and believe it or not I am allergic to pollen, mold, dust mite, cats, dogs and other animals which gives me symptoms from nose and swollen eye's.

I also have food allergy (Anaphylaxis). I am specially allergic to kiwi fruits, apples, pears and also hazlenuts and melons. The symptoms are swollen throat and almost suffocation. I have an Epinephrine Auto-injector in case of emergency.

I have two questions concerning allergy which I hop you will answer although I am not a US citizen.

The first one is about Allergen's in food: Is it true that allergens in food are less harmful when they are cooked. Can I for example use kiwi fruits in a cooked jam or marmalade.

The second is about drugs and their interference:

I suffer from high blood pressure, hypertension, and I am being treated with 15 mg/day of Renitec (enalapril) and a 5 mg/day of Norvasc (besylate salt of amlodipine). I have heard that using my Antihistamine Teldanex 60 mg or 120 mg together with those drugs can bee a risk. is it true?

Thank you,
Olgeir H.

Thank you for asking about food anaphylaxis and allergy treatment in a person with high blood pressure.

Kiwi contains very potent allergens capable of inducing severe life threatening allergic reactions. The same allergens found in kiwi may also be present in other foods such as peaches, pears, avocado, bananas, melons, potato, hazelnuts, grapes, raisons, oregano, sage, dill and many other fresh fruits. In addition to being present in foods, many kiwi allergic patients also have allergy symptoms when exposed to latex containing products such as latex gloves, some candies, gums and/or latex medical devices.

No one knows if kiwi when cooked and denatured by heating will lose its ability to cause allergy symptoms. It is true that processed fruits such as apples, peaches and pears will not cause allergy attacks after being cooked for example for one minute in a microwave at high settings.

Avoidance is the important mode of therapy, and you are correct to have an epinephrine injection available at all times.

Antihistamines are generally safe to take with blood pressure medicines. Terfenadine has been known to affect the electrical system of the heart, but it is now available as fexofenadine which has zero cardiac effects. The important thing for patients to remember is that stimulants such as pseudoephedrine which decongest the nose and sinuses are not to be used if a person has high blood pressure. Decongestants act like adrenaline and may increase the blood pressure even more so.

Be certain to ask you doctor about the medications you are taking, as it is impossible for me to give medical advice over the internet.

I hope this brief information is useful to you.

Good luck.

Steve Kagen, M.D.
Allernet.com